


Shadow

by KatrinaRice



Series: Tattoo my heart [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Crime, Drugs, M/M, Mentions of Prostitution, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, Violence, kid erwin, kid levi, mentions of corporal punishment, questionable morals, sex drugs and rock'n'roll, tattooartist Erwin, tattooartist Levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:35:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatrinaRice/pseuds/KatrinaRice
Summary: Levi's always been a little shit. But so has Erwin.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Series: Tattoo my heart [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827835
Comments: 19
Kudos: 51





	Shadow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Auurii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auurii/gifts).



> This is somewhat of a prequel to "Dangerous" - please enjoy the story of Erwin's and Levi's relationship, everyone! And please mind the tags.

Levi’s always been a little shit. Nasty and blunt, somewhat aggressive and harsh, but always honest and straightforward, soft and gentle at needed times. Loyal. But also brutal. And he’s made Erwin’s life hell on earth for quite a few years – if you perceive the supposed evil underworld as a place full of raging flames of heat, filled with half-naked, sexy people, tempting you to have sex with and do other forbidden things all the time.

They met when they were both brats.

Erwin’s first memory of Levi is that of an angry, crying and screaming kid of merely five years, throwing a mega tantrum because of some random shit, his tired mother near a mental breakdown despite the soothing words of Jacky Smith delivered over a cigarette and a sip of cheap cider out of a plastic bottle – and Erwin remembers how fascinated he was about a child _this_ small having the strength to scream and cry and kick at stuff for _this_ long.

Levi quickly became attached to him. Well, maybe not that quickly, or rather in a weird way at first. Because somehow Erwin’s calm nature really freaked the little Ackerman out and he tried to beat Erwin up almost every day, who was twice as big as him. It took Levi quite a while to figure out that he had no chance of standing up against Erwin. And when he finally did, he just stopped and shared his candy with the blond instead. And Erwin accepted.

Then, Levi became fascinated with the older kid – fascinated and angry. Because when his uncle Kenny gave Erwin one of his tattoo machines, Levi was jealous. So fucking jealous in fact, he threw such a big tantrum, Kenny beat his ass so hard the raven couldn’t sit down for a whole week.

Erwin comforted him, let him play on his Playstation that he had bought with his pocket money – a used piece of crap with certain flaws, games suddenly stopping and shit. But he couldn’t afford anything better and neither could his mum. And back then, this was enough for them. Enough for Levi to calm down and feel better. Feel cool, too; because Erwin let him play the most brutal games borrowed from some kids even older than the blond, living in the same building, and the two of them were rejoicing at all the blood and gore and horror happening in front of their eyes.

Levi became Erwin’s ‘little shadow’.

He followed him everywhere, and word soon got around that if you messed with Levi Ackerman, you also messed with Erwin Smith, and since his reputation as a young tattoo artists started to grow, and many wanted him to give them ink, no one wanted to be on his bad side – that’s why Levi got away with so much of his bullshit. Bullshit that Erwin took part in as well. Because even if they were six years apart, the blond kid enjoyed hanging around with Kenny’s nephew a lot.

It wasn’t even a feeling of having a little brother to take care of, hell no. It was more about the way Levi was admiring Erwin which made him feel good. Cool. Important. Like Kenny’s attention did and his meddling in the adult word, tattooing guys who could totally be his dad, guys that had beaten up people, that had broken into people’s homes, bank robbers and such.

Erwin’s always had a thing for danger.

And with Levi he was able to do so many messed-up things without the young brat judging him. Without _anyone_ judging him. No peer pressure and shit, just the two of them being… silly bad boys. Spitting down at cars from a motorway bridge. Throwing rocks and everything else they could find at windows from factories in the evening. Destroying swings and other play equipment on the playground. Peeing on really expensive cars, leaving paint scratches all across their surface using a key – or one of their knives they played around with, all presents from uncle Kenny. Stealing candy and condoms from the kiosk, which they blew up like balloons. Nicking cigarettes from Kenny and cider from Jacky for Erwin. Because Erwin was a little shit, too. And Levi brought it out in him even more – because the little one was his audience.

And his sort of guinea pig.

Because young boys are nasty.

Because _Erwin_ was nasty.

He made Levi smoke his first cigarette when the raven was only eight years old and nearly cackled to death when the brat almost choked and suffocated while trying to impress his older buddy. He also had Levi steal video games from the store from them – because what could coppers do to a kid below 14 years of age, right? Not much, at least not here in Germany. And how hilarious was it to watch Levi sneak in, all nervous and excited; in the beginning, at least. Because soon after, the little Ackerman became a fantastic thief, and even managed to steal a goddamned fucking new Playstation.

He gifted it to Erwin.

And that’s how Jacky Smith found out about Levi stealing stuff. And this is how Kuchel Ackerman found out as well. And man – that was nasty, too.

The woman screaming at her son nearly made Erwin wet his pants. And Jacky gave her son a hard time as well, rightfully accusing him of having forced Levi to do that – but the raven protested and insisted vehemently that it had all been _his_ idea and Erwin had nothing to do with it. Of course, the blond could have kept his trap shut and make the little one take all the blame – but this wasn’t how the young Smith operated. At least not with everyone. Not with Levi.

He set the record straight, apologizing to Kuchel as well to Jacky, promising both women he’d stop making Levi do shit.

He didn’t.

Levi became Erwin’s notorious partner in crime.

Spraying graffiti all over the fucking place, vandalizing the school, kicking the shit out of people who actually dared to talk crap about them or Kenny, Kuchel and Jacky, stealing bikes to ride on for just a few metres in order to destroy them just a minute later and toss all the parts, randomly cursing at people (a thing Levi was particularly good at).

And then came the hormones.

At least for Erwin.

And Erwin did some really messed-up shit then, too. But not with Levi.

Getting himself sucked off by one of his “clients”, by a man put behind bars for almost killing a man, got himself fucked by one of Kenny’s super drunk shady friends one night, who claimed he wasn’t into men while ramming his dick into the teenage asshole in front of him, and, hell, Erwin even seduced one of his freaking teachers next to some of his classmates. And then, one night, when Jacky was out working the nightshift, he got himself caught in the act.

Going down on one of the neighbour’s kids who was exploring his sexuality, the kid’s cock deep in Erwin’s mouth, the blond realized someone was staring at him; that someone being Levi, who had just casually let himself in, by picking the lock, like he did so often. Nine-year-old Levi, who was now staring at him with wide eyes, totally flustered. And even if Levi did not seem to thoroughly understand what was going on, he seemed to know that this was ‘forbidden’ stuff, adult stuff, messy stuff, embarrassing stuff. And Erwin felt like shooting himself in the face.

He dreaded the first meeting after this, which happened just a few hours later, with Jacky tasking Erwin to go to Kuchel’s and invite her over because she wanted to have a chat and a smoke with the woman, and Kuchel told him to stay with Levi for the next few hours, because the women wanted their privacy. And Erwin was all nervous when he knocked on the kid’s door – and absolutely glad that Levi acted as if _nothing_ had happened. Swearing at his mother for getting drunk again in the middle of the day, instead of forcing Erwin to do some embarrassing explaining.

That’s the day Erwin made Levi try cider, laughing like crazy when the boy was drunk just after half a bottle, swearing even more like his uncle, swaying from side to side, making Erwin decide to take Levi out on the playground a few streets away so Kuchel wouldn’t find out about what they did.

Levi puked all over the sandbox – and the two little girls building a sand castle. And Erwin had to throw Levi over his shoulder like a _bag_ of sand when they needed to fucking make a run for it to escape the upset and very aggravated parents going after them immediately.

He put Levi down on one of the hidden benches in the nearby park teenagers used to make out on. Erwin had done so, too. And it felt kinda wrong to take Levi here, but then again it was secluded and shielded and the first spot that had popped into the teen’s mind when running away, laughing like a maniac; because this is how much Erwin enjoyed ‘dangerous’ situations. And Levi – after puking again – called him a wanker and asshole and many other horrific things, and all Erwin could do was laugh, while drinking some more cider he had stolen from Kuchel’s ‘secret’ stash.

When he met Kenny the next day, he slapped him hard across the face for that; and for making Levi drunk, because _of course_ that fucker had put two and two together – and had seen Erwin making a run from the parents at the playground with a half passed-out Levi’s thrown over his big body.

“You do that again, and I swear I’m gonna beat your _ass_ raw, okay?” Kenny warned him, adding that he should at least wait until Levi’s twelve before giving him any alcohol or cigarettes. Because, apparently, this was the age the man had started drinking and smoking himself at and considered it to be appropriate. Erwin shrugged – and then got to work; because Kenny hadn’t summoned him just for a chat, but to tattoo a ‘client’.

A big, muscled guy with a stern look on his face, a man probably in late twenties, and Erwin realised he knew him from the neighbourhood, had witnessed the man being picked up by the police, handcuffed and shit as he was forced into the police care and taken away. “Just got out of prison,” the man, Reiner, explained – and Erwin Danger Boner Smith’s dick reacted accordingly, as he was sanitizing the huge, lean, firm upper arm he was about to cover with a huge-ass skull.

Later, Reiner fucked _Erwin’s_ skull, and nearly tore his asshole apart when they had sex for real. On that secluded bench in the park, drunk on cheap beer and vodka.

A day later Levi asked a horrific question when they were playing Playstation in Erwin’s room, while Kuchel and Jacky watched a fucked-up Brazilian telenovela.

“Why did the guy put his cock in your ass? Didn’t it hurt a fucking lot?”

And Erwin choked on his Pepsi, coughing so hard Jacky came busting into the room to slap Erwin across his back, screaming at him in panic, fearing her boy would die.

He almost did. Out of embarrassment.

He left Levi’s innocent and at the same time shameful question unanswered. But he told the kid to stop following him “fucking everywhere”.

But Levi didn’t. Because he was Erwin’s shadow.

And Erwin adapted and didn’t have sex in public places. Because a car wasn’t a public place, right?

When Erwin turned 16, having left school to work for Kenny officially, his gullible mother allowed him to have his “first” beer, as he had reached the legal age, and Erwin had to slap Levi’s shoulder more than just one time, hissing at him to shut the fuck up because the kid was laughing so hard at aunt Jacky believing Erwin _hadn’t_ had a drink before.

After the cake, one Kuchel had actually baked for her “nephew”, Erwin got his present: His first tattoo. Kenny gave it to him in his shop, and Levi watched with utter fascination as his uncle put a tribal on his best friend’s skin, snaking itself around Erwin’s left lower arm.

“I wanna be a tattooist, too,” the kid them mumbled, munching on the chocolate Erwin had actually received from Kuchel, but was willing to share with the kid. Because he always shared everything with Levi.

“Well, then you better start working on that,” Kenny told him without looking at his nephew, “Erwin created perfect art at your age already. You can’t even draw a fucking stick-figure.”

“Yes, I fucking can, you twat!” the young Ackerman screamed at his uncle, who just chuckled.

But Levi couldn’t. And it wasn’t because he didn’t have any talent – he just lacked the patience and the willpower to compose art or anything near it. He got distracted too easily, and he was a kid full of rage. So when he made a single mistake, he tore the whole paper into pieces and didn’t try again out of frustration.

“But it really wasn’t that bad,” Erwin tried to encourage Levi one day, when the kid was eleven and tearing up another piece of paper after failing to accomplish his self-set goal. But Levi just scoffed, flipped Erwin off – and told him to suck a dick.

“Wait,” he corrected himself then, snorting, “you actually _like_ sucking dick, don’t you, bastard?”

Erwin blinked, feeling ashamed for the kid calling him, a 17-year-old, out like that. “Shut the fuck up, Levi.”

“Wanna suck mine?”

“Jesus!” Erwin screamed, feeling panicked and embarrassed. “Don’t ever ask me that again, that’s fucking disgusting, you prick!” Because Levi was a fucking _kid_ back then. And the fucking kid that he was, he just started laughing in a nasty way, making Erwin feel relief – because obviously Levi hadn’t meant that in any serious way, just teased him obnoxiously.

“Wanna go steal some beer from the kiosk?”

“Kenny warned me not to give you any alcohol before you turn twelve.”

“Since when do you do what my uncle tells you?”

“Since he’s my boss, asshole.”

Levi grimaced. “Lame.”

“Yeah, you’re right – let’s do this.”

“Yes!”

Kenny did not find out about his boys stealing beer that day and consuming it hidden in another park, further from home.

One night, when Levi and Erwin were sitting on the swings late at night, their mothers partying with some guys from the neighbourhood, smoking some of the cigarettes Levi had stolen from the oblivious guys, the raven-haired boy of twelve years of age finally asked Erwin another important question.

“Are you gay?”

Erwin’s eyes widened – but when he realised Levi wasn’t taking the piss and trying to provoke him in any playful way, but seemed to be genuinely asking his friend about this, the blond relaxed.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Levi said, “cool.”

“How come you’re asking?” Erwin enquired, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“Because uncle Kenny told me all about sex, and about gay guys taking a cock up the ass, which you do all the time.”

“Fuck, I told you not to follow me everywhere!”

Levi shrugged. “But I’m your friend, and uncle Kenny said that you always need to take care of your friends, and he said you’re clever and tough, but also dumb, and that one day you might get yourself killed when you go with the wrong type of guy to do… sex. And uncle Kenny says you need to watch out for your friends, and I watch out for you, so you don’t die.”

Erwin was shocked by Levi’s reply – and also touched in a very weird but nice way. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Ruffling Levi’s hair he said: “I won’t die. Don’t worry too much about me. You should worry more about Kuchel finding out you’re sneaking around at night. You’re the one at danger, you’re just a kid, Levi.”

“So are you!” the raven-haired yelled at Erwin, jumping form the swing, both of his hands turned into fists.

“I’m 18,” Erwin answered, “I’m an adult, Levi.”

“Well then… _fuck you_!” Levi screamed and marched off, leaving a very confused Erwin behind.

That’s when they started drifting apart.

Erwin’s schedule was busy, now that he was working officially as a tattoo artist at Kenny’s shop, having declined a lot of offers from other renowned places. Because Kenny was family. And the older Ackerman was preparing the blond to take over so he could open up a smaller shop at the other end of town, cut down on work a little.

Levi came in after school in the beginning, hanging out in front, talking bullshit with Hange who was Erwin’s age and found the younger Ackerman adorable. Sometimes Erwin let Levi watch him do his work – but not all the clients wanted that, and Erwin totally understood. Thus, after being ignored by Erwin one too many times, one day, Levi stopped coming, and as much as this helped Erwin in fulfilling his work, it also made him kind of sad. Because he was so used to Levi being around him almost all the fucking time.

But Levi found new friends. And when Farlan and Isabel came into Levi’s life, it spiralled out of control.

Levi became the leader of the notorious trio causing nothing but trouble, making the shit Erwin and Levi had together seem like… _kindergarten_.

By the time Levi turned 14 years old, and became accountable for his actions in the eyes of the German law, his file of criminal activities and misconduct was as thick as a… as a fucking monster dildo. Because now Levi wasn’t stealing beer, games and Playstations, he was breaking into houses to steal more valuable shit, and he was also stealing _cars_ : taking them out for a fun ride with his new friends, joined by a handful of other delinquents following the Ackerman’s orders, crashing a few, watching them burn while partying. _And_ Levi had started selling weed for a distant friend of Kenny’s, without the man in question knowing about his nephew’s activities. And he was getting into physical fights more, beating up some of his classmates, older kids, hurting one of them with his knife because he had allegedly called his mother a whore – which Kuchel _was_.

“You know that when you get caught now, doing some of your fucked-up shit, it won’t just be some paperwork and some social activities or other shit they’ve forced you to do to – you could go straight to juvie,” Erwin warned him when they were on the swings again one night, a big party keeping both of them awake.

Levi scoffed, taking a smoke. “I won’t get caught.”

“You were caught before.”

“Because I knew they couldn’t do anything to me!” Levi growled at the blond.

“So now what? You’ll watch our more?” Erwin prodded, actually worried for his friend, and feeling guilty he had put Levi up to do so much shit, leading to… this.

“Fucking shit! Go suck a dick, Erwin, and leave me the fuck alone!” the raven snarled and left.

And then, Levi got caught.

He was leading a group of five that night, trying to steal a brand new BMW. But some older guy suddenly came by, in the middle of nowhere, at the edge of town, taking out his dog for a stroll. Started shouting, and Levi was slightly high on weed and freaked out when the guy grabbed Isabel’s arm and intended to keep her incapacitated while he called the cops.

Levi beat him up.

Badly.

When the guy sank down unconsciously on the pavement, the cops arrived. And this was the end.

The man, a guy in his late 40s, was left blind on his right eye after the way Levi had treated him. A line the youngster should have never crossed. And judgement was delivered quickly. Considering his record and the gravity of the attack, Levi acting on his own with his followers merely staring, he was to be put into juvie for the following two years.

The night before he was being sent away, Erwin went over to his place, despite the raven not wanting to talk to him.

Kuchel looked like a ghost when she opened the door, and Kenny, spending time with his sister to console her, just gave him a silent, curt nod when Erwin passed through to go to Levi’s room. He didn’t bother to knock, knowing he would be sent away.

But he needed to say goodbye.

Levi was sitting on his bed, hugging his pillow tightly, sobbing quietly – and this sent a chill down Erwin’s spine, tugged at his heart. And he just felt so bad. And sad.

“Levi…” he murmured his friend’s name, who flinched at that, and jumped onto his two feet.

“Get the fuck out!” he screamed at Erwin, who didn’t move an inch. “I said: Get the fuck out, Erwin! I’m seriously, fuck off, you cocksucker!”

When Erwin still didn’t move, just stared into Levi’s tear-smeared face twisted into an expression of sorrow and utter, unfiltered anger, Levi grabbed the bottle of coke on his nightstand and threw it at the blond. It didn’t shatter, just fell to the floor, didn’t even bust open and it didn’t even hurt. The only thing it accomplished was making Erwin move – but not out of the room, but further inside. Until he was standing right in front of a shaking Levi and put his arms around the much smaller teenager, pulling him into a bear hug, embraced him.

And that’s when the dam broke, and Erwin felt Levi’s body go weak, slumping in his arms, his own hands fisting into the material of Erwin’s hoodie, a hard sob breaking out of Levi’s mouth, muffled by the fabric of Erwin’s clothing as the brat pressed his face against Erwin’s chest, who started caressing Levi’s head with his cheek, while also stroking his best friend’s back.

“It’s gonna be okay, Levi,” he murmured, holding Levi while the kid cried.

“I don’t wanna go…” Levi sobbed, and Erwin tightened his embrace.

“I wish you didn’t have to, but… You’ll be fine. You’re tough. You’re the strongest brat I know. You’re gonna make it. And you’ll be fine. And I’ll be right here, waiting for you when you come out, all right? And I will visit you, a lot.”

“No,” Levi sighed weakly, sniffling. “I don’t wanna see you there. I think… I think this would make it even harder for me… Um, I…”

Levi’s words hurt Erwin, but he also understood how his friend was feeling. “Fine,” he said, believing Levi would change his mind anyway, “but I will write you letters, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Fine,” Levi agreed, his voice broken. And then he started sobbing again, and Erwin held him like that for what felt like an hour. But that was fine. Because Erwin owed him this.

“I’m sorry,” Erwin finally said, his cheek still resting on Levi’s head, even if that meant the man had to hold a slightly uncomfortable position, because Levi was just so small compared to the blond.

Levi sniffled again, tears still spilling from his eyes, soaking Erwin’s hoodie. “For what?”

“Everything.”

The raven-haired scoffed. “Fuck you,” he then mumbled, like he always did. And Erwin’s lips pulled into a sad smile.

“I wanna give you something,” Erwin then said, “it will make you look cool in juvie and you’ll have something to always make you remember that I’m here for you,” he added, slowly letting go of Levi, who wiped the tears off his face using the sleeves of his pullover, sniffling.

“Wh-what?” he mumbled, and Erwin grinned.

“Wait here, I need to get something.”

That night, Erwin gave Levi his first tattoo: A black dragon on the right side of Levi’s chest.

“Thank you,” Levi mumbled, staring at his new reflection in the mirror, their gazes meeting and the raven giving Erwin a soft smile. “It looks amazing.”

The next day, Levi was gone. And Erwin felt empty inside.

He missed Levi dearly. And the teen did not change his mind – did not allow Erwin to visit him. Didn’t even want to have Kuchel go there, didn’t want her to walk the walk of shame, which his mother could not understand, crying her eyes out because her baby was gone and she couldn’t see her son. Even Kenny wasn’t allowed to visit.

But Erwin always knew what was going on, because he kept his promise and wrote the first letter to Levi on the first day of his imprisonment, and received an answer shortly after.

It became a habit.

As soon as a letter arrived, it would be answered from each of the young men. And this did not change during the two years.

Erwin kept Levi updated about everything going on in their building and the general neighbourhood, sharing gossip, informing him about what was going on in the tattoo shop – talking about all the crazy things Hange did, and the scary Russians, Levi making fun of Erwin of actually fancying some of the mafia members.

Levi told him about the kids he met in juvie, Gunther, Eld and Olou, and Erwin witnessed how their bond grew deeper. The teen kept him updated about how he continued his school within the walls, attended a lot of workshops, took part in anger management classes – and got into an art project. And that’s when he started drawing for real, sending Erwin a draft with every letter, awaiting criticism and helpful hints; because he wanted to get better, focussing on his goal of becoming a tattoo artist once he was out of juvie.

And improve he _did_.

“Shit, shrimp is actually good at this,” Kenny admitted when Erwin showed him one of Levi’s artworks.

“I want him to work with me when he’s out,” Erwin told him and Kenny smiled, patting his protégé’s shoulder.

“You do that, son.”

Time passed quickly, and finally, Levi’s release was just a day way – and Kuchel, Kenny, Jacky, Hange and Erwin went absolutely crazy, trying to prepare the most awesome welcome home party the neighbourhood had ever seen, buying all sorts of booze and food, Kuchel baking the biggest cake ever, Kenny buying his nephew a brand new tattoo machine as a surprise. And when the brat informed them that he was on the bus – because he didn’t want anyone to pick him up – Erwin found himself growing nervous.

He hadn’t seen Levi for two fucking years. And he asked himself, what the kid would like now. What he would _be_ like.

Levi had definitely matured during his time. He had been frustrated and angry in the beginning, Erwin could tell from what Levi had written. But then, as time passed and Levi got into all those workshops and the art project, became closer with his new friends, he had started to change, seemed more at ease, focussed and… _contented_. Happy. And that made Erwin happy. And he was so excited to witness this more mature version of his best friend in real life.

But what Erwin wasn’t prepared for was just how _much_ Levi had matured. Physically. And when the raven entered the apartment, flinching when the whole lot screamed “surprise!” at him – because they hadn’t spilled any beans to him about a party – Erwin’s jaw dropped open. Because…

Levi’s hair looked different. It was now an undercut, with his top strands tied into a short ponytail. It made his jaw look sharp. And his face wasn’t a face of a kid anymore. It had matured, too. Because Levi wasn’t fourteen anymore, he was sixteen, a teenager, yes, but not a brat anymore. And he was wearing a tight t-shirt and… And he’d done a lot more weight lifting than he had told Erwin about, because that kid was fucking… ripped now. _Ripped_.

Damn.

And Erwin felt absolutely ashamed for his thoughts, realising he wasn’t just _looking_ at Levi, but _checking him out_.

The moment Levi finally stood before him – after being nearly embraced to death by all the adults and Hange – Erwin had no idea what to say, was still too stunned and too embarrassed by his body’s reaction to his best friend, too dumbfounded, too excited and nervous, and too—

“Hey,” Levi said, and Erwin realised that even Levi’s voice had changed during his time away. It was now deeper, more… manly. But it was still Levi. One hundred percent Levi. And only then Erwin realised how fucking relieved he was that his best friend was back, and he didn’t even know what he was doing when it was too late, when he had pressed that super embarrassing, auntie-like kiss onto his best friend’s head, hugging him tightly afterwards, breathing in Levi’s scent – that was so different, too. Because obviously he had used some sort of cologne and wasn’t smelling of bubble gum or some other bratty shit, and this made Erwin feel more of those embarrassing and forbidden things; while he also felt… super mega happy.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Erwin told Levi, whose arms had wrapped around his waist. “God, you’re really ripped,” Erwin mumbled, after letting his arms wander up and down Levi’s back.

The raven chuckled. “Working out helped me to get rid of my aggressions,” he said, smirking when the young men let go of each other, looking into each other’s eyes.

“You really look good, Levi.”

“You look good yourself, Erwin.”

Then Kuchel stole Levi again, and Erwin let her. After all, his mother was starved, not having seen her son for two years. She stuffed him with cake and pizza and gave him expensive beer to drink, and made him tell the group all about his time behind bars, which Levi gladly did. And Erwin noticed, once more, how much Levi had changed while listening to him and to his more sophisticated way of speaking. He wasn’t Albert Einstein suddenly, or William Shakespeare – he was still Levi. But a more refined version of himself.

Two hours into the party, Kenny finally told Kuchel to leave the boy alone – because Erwin had a surprise for Levi and for that, they needed to have some privacy.

“Oh?” Levi picked up, his voice a mix of curiosity and excitement.

And Erwin grew even more nervous, realising he’d be alone with Levi for the next hours. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, let’s, um, let’s go to the tattoo shop. The surprise is… there.”

They walked, each drinking a beer, and after five minutes it felt as if nothing had changed, as if Levi _hadn’t_ been away for two years, the teenager cussing and swearing at how Kuchel nearly strangled him to death just now, making Erwin snicker and tell him about how nervous his mother had been the past week, driving Kenny and himself mad with the preparations for his party.

“I hope you enjoyed it a little bit at least.”

Levi smiled, before taking a sip of his beer. “Yeah… I did,” he said – and sounded absolutely happy and sincere.

And then Levi was speechless. Because Erwin had drafted another dragon for Levi, even more badass than before, to put onto the left side on his chest – and Levi was more than happy to oblige, getting rid of his shirt straightaway.

And that’s when Erwin needed to calm the fuck down, because… Fuck. He was having the most improper thoughts looking at that toned, muscled upper body, that fucking eight pack, those prominent pectorals. And he hated himself so much for his groin stirring at that sight.

“Yeah, uh, well, let’s, get, uh, started,” he muttered, getting to work.

They talked more during the tattooing process, with hard rock and metal playing in the background, songs that Erwin and Levi loved and which they had talked about in their letters.

“I like your piercings,” Levi says. “They look cool.”

“Thanks.”

“Hange did all of them, right?” Levi asked, referring to Erwin’s septum, the ring in his eyebrow, his bottom lip piercing and bridge.

“Yeah,” Erwin said, “you should totally get some, too. They would suit you.”

“Yeah, I will.”

Erwin smiled. “Hange will be really happy to pierce you.”

“Hope they don’t kill me accidentally.”

“Well, they’re gonna try to talk you into getting every piercing possible…”

“I thought so. Fucking weirdo.”

“Yeah…”

After a while of being silent and watching Erwin work on his body, Levi spoke again.

“I lost my virginity in juvie,” he told him, and Erwin blinked, stopped the needle, looking into Levi’s eyes who hadn’t told him anything about that in the letters.

“You did?”

Levi nodded, grinning daftly.

“Wait,” Erwin suddenly gasped, putting two and two together, “there weren’t any girls around…”

“Nope,” Levi affirmed.

Erwin blinked again. “So… You’re…”

“Gay,” Levi deadpanned. “Always have been.”

“…oh…”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“…you’re gonna continue my tattoo, or what?” Levi asked, shaking Erwin from his trance the latter hadn’t even realised he had fallen into.

“Um, yeah, s-sorry.”

Erwin was confused, surprised, and for some strange reason embarrassed. The strange reason being that he had just imagined kissing Levi and sleeping with him after that fucking revelation. Seriously, what the hell was Erwin thinking?!

And he was a freaking masochist. Because instead of just letting it go, he kept the conversation going. “Always?” he asked. “You always knew you were gay?”

Levi nodded, taking a sip of his beer. “Yeah, remember when I walked in on you sucking that weird kid from a few blocks away off?” How could Erwin ever forget that… “I think that’s when I knew.”

“So, uh… I made you gay, or what?” Erwin tried to tease – but he felt so miserable, his hand started to shake and he needed to take another break, grabbing a beer himself as an excuse for another tattoo pause.

Levi laughed. “I don’t think you made me gay, buddy. I think seeing you with another guy made me realise that I was into guys, too. You know. It made me understand that this was a thing and that it was okay to like guys, and wanting to do all that stuff to guys you were supposed to do with a girl?”

“Uh. Yeah.”

Erwin was flabbergasted. And confused. And paralyzed. And excited. And embarrassed. All at once.

“I whacked off so many times thinking about that,” Levi suddenly added and Erwin nearly fell off his stool, choking on his beer.

“Shut up, you prick,” he huffed out, laughing a nervous laugh. But Levi just shrugged.

“It is what it is,” he said, dismissively, a light grin on his lips. “I also whacked off when I watched you getting railed by that guy on the bench.”

“Jesus,” Erwin breathed out, shaking his head, laughing – feeling many, many, extremely weird emotions he didn’t want to be thinking about. “So that’s the fucking reason you were following me around…!”

“No,” Levi instantly said, his voice sterner than before. “I told you: I… I wanted to protect you, you dumb whore.”

Erwin felt touched once again. And still embarrassed. And hot. And a little bit panicked.

“All right, enough of that jerking off talk.”

“Aren’t you gonna ask me about who I fucked with and how?” Levi enquired, grinning slyly.

Erwin sighed. “You’re gonna tell me anyway, huh?”

“Damned right I am. I fucked with a guy called Porco.”

“Ah, that kid who also wants to be a tattoo artist?”

“Yeah.”

And Erwin couldn’t help it, the question was out before he could stop himself. “Was it good?”

Levi chuckled. “Yeah…”

“Did you top? Or did you bottom?”

“Both.”

Heat flooded Erwin’s belly, and he couldn’t stop it. Couldn’t stop himself. Never having expected to have _this_ kind of talk with _Levi_. “What do you like better?”

“Hmmmm… I liked both,” Levi answered, “but I prefer to top. You?”

Erwin swallowed thickly. “I like both, too,” he finally answered, staring hard at the emerging dragon on Levi’s skin as to not having to look into his friend’s eyes, “but I prefer to bottom.”

Levi hummed, and it sent a shiver down Erwin’s spine, who was reminding himself that this was his kid-friend. Only Levi wasn’t really a kid anymore.

“We’re compatible then,” Levi stated, and Erwin’s hand nearly slipped and he cursed internally, releasing a nervous laugh.

“Idiot,” he scolded him, finally finishing the dragon.

And then Levi was speechless again. Because this wasn’t the actual surprise.

“This is from Kenny,” Erwin told him, watching the raven unpack his very own tattoo machine. And seeing his eyes widen and his lips pull into a pure smile, made Erwin feel utterly happy. “And this is from me,” Erwin added, suddenly pulling his shirt over his head and sitting down on the tattoo chair, giving Levi a ready-made template, and the dark-haired young man immediately recognized it.

It was a raven Levi designed behind bars, one of the latest drafts he had sent to Erwin. Astounded, Levi shifted his gaze to look into Erwin’s eyes, who announced to the younger one: “I want you to give me a tattoo, Levi.”

“B-b-but… I’m— I haven’t done this before. Wh-what if, what if I fuck up?”

“You won’t,” Erwin told him calmly, “you practically grew up with this shit, your artwork is neat, you know how it’s done. You’ll be fine. And if you fuck up, I can still make Kenny cover it up nicely. But I want to be the first one you give one of your tattoos to. And… I hope you’re fine with this.”

“I, I, I fucking am so fucking much, fuck!”

Erwin smiled.

And Levi did not fuck up. Placed one of the first ravens to cover Erwin’s arm onto his skin.

“It’s fucking perfect,” Erwin told him, “you’ll work for me from now on, right?”

Levi was nodding immediately, staring at Erwin’s arm, at his very first tattoo on the skin of his best friend. “Fuck, I will. And I won’t fuck up. I promise.”

“I know.”

In the following months Levi continued to practise on Erwin’s body, extending the raven tattoo on the blond’s skin. He also got pierced by Hange who, indeed, tried to persuade the younger Ackerman to get all sorts of studs and rings. The septum was the first he agreed to, then came the eyebrows. And it was just as Erwin had said: The jewellery really suited the raven-haired young men.

Erwin was a bit worried when Farlan and Isabel showed up one day at the shop to each get a piercing done by Hange – but they, too, had matured and calmed down a little; probably because of Levi’s influence.

Levi also had an influence on Erwin. But a fairly different one.

Because the blond tattoo artists kept catching himself checking his best friend out – and he had no fucking clue how to feel or what to do about it. He felt awful, because Levi was still a kid at sixteen and a few months. Then again, according to the law, Erwin would be legally allowed at twenty-two to have sex with him – but why the hell was he even fucking thinking about that?!

“Let’s get drunk,” Erwin proposed on a Saturday night after he closed up the shop with Levi.

“All right. Pub? Bar? Club? Your place?”

“You’re sixteen, prick, of course we’re doing it at my place. You wouldn’t even be fucking let into a club, idiot.”

“Oh, we’re _doing it_ …” Levi picked up in a playfully sultry voice, wiggling his eyes just like Hange always did.

“Oh God…” Erwin mumbled, rolling his eyes, while Levi cackled.

Even though Levi slept over, they did not _do it_. They just played a lot of video games together, drinking beer, smoking some weed. And it became a regular thing. Levi coming home with Erwin on a Saturday night, when they closed the shop, the two of them getting drunk, sometimes even popping a special pill, dancing like crazy in Erwin’s living room.

And it shouldn’t have been any different that one summer night in August, when that new game came out, and the two young men spent the whole evening bashing their virtual heads in, cackling and swearing and drinking a lot of cool beer – because it was just so fucking hot. And then, Erwin’s only working fan broke, and the two of them started sweating like pigs.

“Fuck this,” Levi swore, taking off his t-shirt. And Erwin, already pretty much intoxicated, couldn’t stop himself from looking over to his best friend, staring at his well-built and well-trained upper body, Levi maintaining a tight gym schedule after having come back from juvie. And Erwin wished he could say he was just impressed by all those muscles. But he wasn’t.

He was horny. And hungry. And the sight of Levi’s body made his mouth water, and he hated himself in that moment, but he just couldn’t control his carnal urges, despite the fact that Levi was his best friend and six years his junior, a fucking sixteen-year-old teenager. Who had a body that looked as if it belonged to a grown-ass adult, a real man, those stone-hard abs making it freaking hard to breathe for Erwin as he continued to just fucking stare at them, heat pooling in his belly.

And then Levi fucking Ackerman had the audacity to chuckle and ask:

“Wanna fuck?”

And God, Erwin did.

They were kissing deeply before Erwin could ponder the whole matter, his own shirt already discarded on the floor, with the pants and underwear following really quickly, and when Erwin looked at Levi’s dick for the first time in all its hard glory, he nearly fainted.

“Fuck! How can you be so fucking big? You’re a fucking dwarf!” he gasped and Levi snorted.

“Jealous?”

“No,” Erwin answered, all reason fucking obliterated by that big fucking, leaking cock right in front of him, already diving between Levi’s thighs, licking over the length instantly, making the younger man moan and throw his head back, which, in turn, made arousal sizzle through Erwin’s veins. “Did Porco suck you off, too? Or is this your first time?” he asked, his voice heavy with desire, before he started sucking on Levi’s tip.

“Ugh, y-yeah… H-h-he did… Ugh!”

And Erwin was surprised that he wasn’t feeling disappointed or jealous, but… Even more aroused, picturing Levi with another man between his thighs. A lustful groan made its way up the man’s throat, before he stuffed it with Levi’s cock, making the raven’s fingers dig into his naked shoulders.

“Tell me about it…” Erwin demanded, letting his moist lips glide up and down the shaft before taking the whole cock back into his mouth, moving his slowly up and down, pulling more of those lusty sounds from Levi.

“…it happened i-i-n the showers…”

Erwin hummed, Levi’s dick occupying his whole mouth.

“Tell me more…” he breathed against the bulbous cockhead, licking over it next, looking up at the other man – and the dazed expression he saw on Levi’s flushed face almost made Erwin fucking nut on the spot, Levi’s eyes dark pools of desire, lips parted, eyebrows slightly furrowed. Fuck.

“…he went down on his knees and held onto m-m-y hips,” Levi continued, a moan interrupting his sexual report as Erwin took his whole cock back into his mouth and began to move his head again. “…and he… he played with my balls while he took my cock into his m-m-outh, ah.” Levi moaned again as Erwin did what the teenager described, cupping his balls with his left hand, beginning to play with them. “Fuck!” Levi gasped, his hips starting to move on their own volition.

He almost came into Erwin’s mouth, pushing the blond off his cock in the very last second.

“Fuck”, he cursed again, something predatory in his gaze right now, “wh-where is th-the lube?” he asked in a shaky voice when Erwin wiped the pre-cum of his best friend off his chin – and that’s when the reality of the situation struck him.

_He was about to have sex_ _with Levi_.

Bratty Levi Ackerman, his little shadow, the kid that followed him around everywhere, the nephew of his fucking boss, practically like a little brother, even if Erwin hadn’t looked at him like that before. But suddenly, he did. And fear as well as shame gripped Erwin’s throat, and he recoiled, pressing himself into the other end of the sofa, his breath agitated.

“…wh-what?” Levi asked, confused and a little concerned, sitting up, looking at Erwin.

“We… we can’t,” the blond stammered, in shock about what had happened – him, sucking Levi’s dick – and about what was about to happen. Them. Fucking. “It would… destroy our friendship.”

“Would it?” Levi picked up, cocking a brow, sighing after Erwin did not react. “Come on, Erwin,” he started again, “never heard of friends with benefits?”

“Friends with benefits?” the blond reiterated the words. Like a dumb kid. And Levi leered at him, crawling over, invading the tattooist’s private space, who wasn’t able to move. Because even if one part of him acted like the responsible adult he was supposed to be, trying to stop what was going on, the other part wanted to be fucking _wrecked_ by this dwarf with the big dick.

“Yeah,” Levi breathed out, straddling Erwin, his small hands moving into the man’s heated neck as he bend down and pressed his lips onto Erwin’s, poking them with his tongue – and when the man parted his mouth and their wet muscles met in another wet and sloppy kiss, and Erwin felt Levi’s erection press against his belly, his sanity was swept away, and he opened up to the idea of having this sort of relationship with Levi.

“Friends with benefits,” he repeated after they broke their kiss and Levi started rubbing his dick against Erwin’s abdomen, grinning.

“Friends with benefits,” Levi repeated, “but I top.”

“You top,” Erwin reiterated dumbly – and that just made his own cock throb so fucking much, he was sure he’d cum right there and then. “Fuck.”

Levi chuckled, and Erwin could not believe what a seductive little fuck his best friend had become.

They kissed in an almost obscene way and Erwin couldn’t stop his hands from roaming all over that well-built body.

“Fuck,” he whispered once again, his breath caressing Levi’s salty skin, making the latter flinch underneath him as Erwin’s tongue flicked over the raven’s nipple on its way back between his thighs, kissing the inside of them, letting out all of his suppressed desire – because Erwin had to fucking face it. He had wanted to get into Levi’s pants since the moment the young Ackerman had stepped into his surprise party. “Fuck. Wanna watch me work myself open for you?” the question poured from his mouth before Erwin could tell himself to shut the hell up – but he was just too horny. And he was a slut.

“Fuck… yessss,” Levi agreed, way too enthusiastically, which only spurred Erwin Slut Smith on.

“Fuck,” Erwin breathed out, before quickly running for the lube.

It was embarrassing and shameful, Erwin’s ass hovering right in front of Levi’s face, who was spread lazily across the couch, lying on his back while Erwin was on top of him, his knees planted to either side of the raven’s head, the smaller man’s huge cock back in Erwin’s hungry mouth, one of the blond man’s hands supporting him on the mattress, the fingers of the other buried in his hole. Right in front of Levi’s eyes. Working himself open as promised, the raven kindly adding some lube now and then, if he wasn’t groping Erwin’s ass cheeks, whispering lewd stuff, his breath gliding over Erwin’s entrance.

But Erwin loved every second of it – _because_ it was embarrassing and shameful. And just fucking hot.

And then, when Erwin had enough, couldn’t wait anymore, he turned around, straddling Levi, putting a condom onto that big, throbbing prick still wet from his own saliva, guiding it in himself, sinking down on the hard meat, Levi’s nimble fingers digging almost painfully into his hips as the kid – who really wasn’t a kid anymore – tried to stifle his moans; and Erwin found that cute. As well as freaking sexy. And when Levi’s cock started to press against his prostate, Erwin threw his head back and released the most obnoxious moan ever, making Levi lose his inhibitions as well, joining in, letting out his own symphony of groans and gasps as Erwin started fucking himself on his cock.

Hard.

Like a freaking maniac.

Because Erwin _was_ a freaking maniac.

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…!” Levi started moaning, louder and quicker, starting to move his hips according to Erwin slamming himself down on them – until they were fucking like rabbits. Fast, wild and completely out of control, with Erwin stroking himself in the same insane rhythm, coming hard all over that fucking toned upper body of his best friend, taking Levi over the edge with him, the younger man moaning so loudly as he climaxed inside of Erwin’s ass, the blond was sure even his deaf neighbour could fucking hear that.

He smiled stupidly, once Levi had given him everything that was inside of him, surfing on an intense coital high, mixed with booze and drugs in his system.

“Fuck,” he whispered, bending down and claiming Levi’s lips again, who chuckled into the kiss.

“Fuck,” Levi echoed, between their kisses.

And a few minutes after they both fall asleep with a smile on their lips – and their life as friends with benefits began.


End file.
